Alleged dismemberment killer heading to court

Costa Mesa man has pleaded not guilty after being accused of killing an Afghanistan veteran and a tutor.

May 12, 2011|By Lauren Williams, lauren.williams@latimes.com

COSTA MESA — A Costa Mesa man accused of murdering his neighbor for financial gain and killing his neighbor's tutor is set to appear in court Friday, according to court documents.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Daniel Wozniak, 27, who is accused of killing Afghanistan veteran Samuel Herr, 26, and Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, 23, last year.

Wozniak, a community theater actor, has pleaded not guilty. He is set to appear at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.

Prosecutors allege Wozniak killed Herr and lured Kibuishi to Herr's Costa Mesa apartment, killing her there in an effort to frame Herr, according to a statement released by the district attorney's office.

Kibuishi's body was found May 22 in Herr's apartment with her clothes partially removed in an effort to stage sexual assault, according to the statement.

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Parts of Herr's dismembered body were found five days later in Long Beach's El Dorado Park Nature Center.

Authorities believe Wozniak drove Herr to a theater facility at the Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base on May 21 and shot him twice in the head before dismembering him.

Later in the evening, Wozniak allegedly texted Kibuishi and lured her into Herr's apartment.

Wozniak was later arrested at his bachelor party in Huntington Beach.

He is also accused of using a 17-year-old acquaintance to withdraw $2,000 from Herr's account.